Truly Sweet
by Serenity12
Summary: Strange how the taste of something can change by a simple phrase. Fluffy Valentines Day nonsense.


"Hey Phineas, whatcha doin?" Phineas Flynn-Fletcher glanced up from the pile of cards on his desk and smiled, his eyes bright as he looked at his long time neighbor, "Oh, hey Isabella! Just going through everyone's Valentine's day cards. Did you see the cool designs Django made for everyone?"

Isabella nodded, her hands remaining casually hidden behind her back, "Uh huh. He made mine look like a Unicorn, it was really neat!"

"Oh." Phineas's expression faltered a bit as he glanced down to his backpack, but quickly replaced it with a coy smile as he met his friends gaze once more, "Yeah, um, that's cool. I'm sure it came out awesome."

"Yeah…" Isabella bit her bottom lip as she lowered her eyes to the ground, her little heart thumping wildly against her chest, "Um…so…"

Phineas tilted his head towards her much like a baffled puppy to his owner, "Everything ok Isabella?"

"Oh, yeah, no, I'm cool, bro!" Isabella withdrew one hand from behind her back to wave frantically as if the movement would prove her point. She paused in mid wave and glanced towards her other hand, taking a deep breath before she turned her attention back to her personal red-haired heart throb, "Phineas…"

She withdrew a heart shaped card from behind her back, painstakingly decorated with white lace glued around the edges and just the right amount of glitter. In cursive letters that she had re-written a million times into perfection, the words "To Phineas, From Isabella" could be seen.

Isabella felt her cheeks flush a light pink as she presented the card to her crush, murmuring softly as she stared at him, "Happy Valentine's Day, Phineas."

The 11-year-old boy stared thoughtfully down at the handmade gift and was all too happy to accept it, a grateful smile spread across his lips as his fingers traced along the Isabella's hard, detailed work, "Wow, thanks Isabella! This looks great, you're really talented! I wonder if you could get a patch for card making."

"Oh, it was no biggie." Isabella giggled behind her hand, trying not to burst at the seams at Phineas's more than adequate response to her gift. She tried to remain calm and collected, but on the inside every ounce of her inner lovesick girlhood was jumping and singing at the simple praise she'd just received.

"I made you a card, too."

Phineas's voice broke through Isabella's mental party and caused her heart to flip, "Oh, r-really? You didn't have to do that…"

The boy laughed in response, already rummaging through the contents of his backpack, "Don't be silly Isabella, you're my friend! Of course I'd get you something for Valentines day!"

He pulled out a rectangular card, but refused to show the front of it, tilting the cover towards his chest as he flashed an embarrassed grin in Isabella's direction, "Um, you might be a little disappointed with it. I doubt it's as good as Django's picture for you, but I did it all myself, I didn't even let Ferb help me with it."

"I'm sure it's amazing, Phineas." Isabella blinked down at him in surprise, taken back by his sudden insecurity, "Everything you make is."

This only caused Phineas to laugh again before giving her another shy smile and gingerly presenting her with his gift, his blue eyes cautious, but hopeful, as he gauged her reaction. The card was made of thick, white paper, with a long rainbow drawn out from edge to edge, filling the cover with color. Isabella took the card with trembling hands and opened it, staring wistfully down at a slightly crude portrait of her standing next to a Unicorn, a large ice cream and candy mountain behind her. Large words in Phineas's messy hand writing sprawled across the page reading, "Happy Valentine's Day Isabella!". She noticed with a start the small, red heart that sat innocently next to her name.

She loved it, every ounce of it. She wanted to kiss the card a million times and hold it tight to her chest, and squeal and gush about it to her fireside troop. She wanted to, but Phineas was waiting patiently for her response, and she wasn't sure if the teacher would approve of her making such a ruckus in class.

So instead Isabella gave him a wide, happy grin, and clutched the card as if her life depended on it, "Oh, wow! Wow Phineas, it's great! I love it, thank you!"

She watched the face of her favorite red head light up at her words, mirroring her grin as he spoke, "You really think so?"

"Yeah! Definitely! This is the best Valentine's Day card I've ever gotten!"

He laughed again, seeming pleased with her reaction, and nodded his approval, "Well, I'm glad you like it, then."

Isabella nodded vigorously, then glanced down to the small hill of cards that had gathered on Phineas's desk. She felt her stomach twist slightly as she took note of the amount of girl signatures the pile held, "So, looks like you got a lot of cards this year, huh?"

Phineas shrugged, not seeming phased by the comment, "Yeah, I guess so. Last year was better though, I think. A lot more people passed out chocolates. All I got this year was a little box of those heart candies."

He dug through his mound of gifts and retrieved a cartoonish, store bought card with a small box tapped to it. His blue eyes looked down at the candy in mild amusement as he ripped the box from its card and examined it with some interest, "You know, these don't taste very good. They're really chalky, and yet the company sells millions of them every Valentine's Day. I wonder why that is…"

"Perhaps it is because of the clever but brief and often misspelled phrases they write." Phineas and Isabella blinked towards the sound of Baljeets voice. The small Indian boy gave a bashful laugh and leaned over his desk towards them, "I am sorry, I did not mean to intrude. I simply overheard your conversation and thought I could offer my assistance."

"Hey, focus, nerd! I still need to create the perfect Valentine card for Biff! Now get to work!" Baljeet sighed as he turned his attention back to Buford, who was once again unimpressed by the 6th card design Baljeet had modeled for him.

Phineas smiled despite himself and looked back towards Isabella, who was all but glaring Baljeet and Buford down for their untimely interruption. He lifted the small opening of the cardboard box and dumped a few candied hearts into the palm of his hand, shifted through the pieces as he read the phrases aloud, "Hmmm…"URA 10", ha, it's clever because they use the letters "UR" instead of just typing out the words. I guess I can see the appeal, though I question the influence it has on the already increasing misuse of grammar in our society."

Isabella blinked down at him, then let her gaze fall curiously to the powered candies in his hand. They picked through the small phrases together, laughing at ones that were silly and awkwardly sliding over the ones that were just a bit too romantic. Phineas suddenly paused, staring down at his hand as though in thought, and then softened his gaze. Without a second thought, he picked up a small, pick heart, and with a warm smile handed it over to his raven-haired friend, "Here you go, Isabella. This one's perfect for you."

Isabella accepted the heart with some confusion, holding the candy up closer to her face as she carefully read it's word printed in red candied dye, "U R 2 CUTE". She jerked her head back up towards Phineas, who only grinned at her before sorting through more candies and commenting on a particular funny phrase.

The young girl smiled, her heart fluttering, and without a word plopped the heart into her mouth, savoring every crumbling morsel. For the first time in her life, she didn't gag on the chalky substance or scrunch her face in distaste-in fact, Isabella was sure, without a doubt in her mind, that it was the sweetest thing she had ever tasted, and decided that as of that day those silly, bland little hearts were her ultimate favorite candy ever.

* * *

><p>I got this little drabble in my head yesterday and RACED to get it down and posted before leaving for work, ha! It's a little rushed, but I hope everyone enjoys it all the same!<p>

On a side note, any of those who are waiting for my "Speak Now" update, it's coming! Sorry for the slow update, but it shouldn't be much longer now =P


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